Tigers Name New Manager

The Tigers have chosen Ron Gardenhire as their new manager. The 59 year old Gardenhire was the bench coach this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks and managed the Minnesota Twins for 13 seasons, ending in 2014.

Under Gardenhire, the Twins won the division six times. He was voted AL Manager of the Year in 2010. But his final four years in Minnesota were tough ones. The Twins went 78-148 in the last two months of those seasons.

Detroit finished tied for the worst record in the majors this year under Brad Ausmus. The team now is in full rebuilding mode.

Gardenhire brings the experience to the job that GM Al Avila said he wanted. Gardenhire is one of the most respected baseball people around, but he’s also a throwback to the “old school”, which some say is a step back.

“All you have to do is look at the teams currently playing in the playoffs to see where it’s headed. Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and even the New York Yankees lean heavily on math to assemble rosters and to provide reasoning behind in-game strategy. Gardenhire does not.”

A sixth round selection by the New York Mets in the 1979 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Gardenhire played five Major League seasons with the Mets, hitting .232 with four home runs and 49 RBI in 285 games.

A native of Butzbach, West Germany, Gardenhire and his wife, Carol, reside in Fort Myers, FL. The couple has three children, Tiffany, Tara and Toby. He will wear jersey #15 for the Tigers.